Our negotiating team was back at the table on Tuesday the 22nd to bargain with the administration for both adjunct instructors as well as graduate and research employees. You can find the UCAN graduate employee proposal here and the adjunct proposal here.

Their team responded to our proposals by only sending us counter-proposals for a graduate and research employee contract (found here). We’re still waiting to receive their counter-proposals for an adjunct contract. Both our original proposals and their counters are posted on the website. Take a look, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to talk with a bargaining team member for clarification.

We sparred with the administration’s team over the issue of wages, parking fees, dates for reappointment, union representation, paid orientations for graduate and research employees, an effective grievance procedure, as well as workload. The administration’s team is insisting on raising the minimum graduate employee salary to $22,000 per year, despite the fact that most graduate employees already earn more or a comparable amount, effectively putting forward a 0% increase for most graduate employees.

We pushed for equity with graduate employees at Rutgers University, which means we want a 15 hour workweek rather than the current 20, equal pay for equal work, better healthcare, and cheaper parking. The administration insists that graduate employees are students first, and should be treated as students rather than as workers. We insist that as legally recognized public employees in the state of New Jersey, graduate employees deserve the same treatment as any other employee in higher education.

We also pushed for the elimination of a probationary period for research employees, to guarantee the payout of unused vacation time, as well as wage increases.

We made a number of additional information requests, and the administration’s team agreed to supply us with documentation about their policies on:

The administration’s team also told us in no uncertain terms that their standing orders are to settle our two contracts rather than delaying, so we look forward to meaningful good faith negotiations. We’ll be back at the table next week. We’ve proposed six more bargaining dates for the month of September, and we’re eagerly awaiting their counter-proposals for an adjunct contract, which we expect next week. If you have any questions or would like any clarifications, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Finally, we are looking to set up department meetings to update everyone on the contract negotiations and discuss next steps. Please email Jacob Chaffin at jchaffin@rutgersaaup.org if you are interested in having a union representative talk to your department.